Evening Star Newspaper, July 17, 1936, Page 5

-COUPLE EXECUTED FORPOISONKILLING Mrs. Creighton, Collapsed, Taken to Chair—Man Repeats Denials. BACKGROUND— Last September Mrs. Everett C. Appelgate, 268-pound wife of a Baldwin, Long Island, Americas Legion member, died of poisonin Police arrested Appelgate and his former intimate, Mrs. Mary Fran- ces Creighton. The Appelgates and Creightons shared a bungalow. Mrs. Creighton confessed part in the slaying, but said the actual dose was administered by Appel- gate. The State advanced the theory that Mrs. Creighton wanted Appelgate’s wife out of the way so he could marry her 15-year-old daughter, with whom he confessed he had been intimate. Both the accused were sentenced to die in the elctric chair. By the Assoclated Press. OSSINING, N. Y., July 17.—Mrs. + Frances Creighton, electrocuted for the poison eggnog murder of Mrs. Ada Appelgate, was the first person in Sing Sing prison's history ever carried to the electric chair. Semi-comatose, her head lolling against the back of a wheel chair, Mrs. Creighton was trundled into the death chamber late last night and executed along with Everett C. Appelgate, hus- band of the slain woman. Appelgate, in contrast, calmly walked in unassisted two minutes after Mrs. Creighton was pronounced dead. He faced witnesses to protest his inno- cence and invoked Divine mercy for the district attorney who had prose- cuted him. i Maintains Innocence. “Before I die, gentlemen, I want to say that I am absolutely innocent of this crime. I pray that God have mercy on the soul of Martin W. Little- ton of Nassau County,” Appelgate said. Finished, he cleared his throat, sat down and was put to death four min- utes after Mrs. Creighton’s wheel chair had first appeared in the death cham- ber door. Littleton, the district attorney Ap- pelgate referred to, said, when told of the condemned man's last words: “The law has taken its course.” Sing Sing's warden, Lewis E. Lawes, said the unparalleled procedure of wheeling the 38-year-old woman to the chair was decided upon only after she had said she could not rise from her prison cot unassisted. A special medical commission ap- pointed by Gov. Herbert Lehman to investigate Mrs. Creighton’s condition, had reported that hysterical fear had caused her to feign paralysis of her lower limbs and vocal cords. Accused of Killing Wife. The condemned man and Woman were convicted of having poisoned a *“nourishing drink” and given it to Appelgate's 268-pound wife. The Creighton and Appelgate families had shared a bungalow in| Baldwin, Long Island. Twice before had Mrs. Creighton been acquitted of poison murder charges, in 1923 in the death of her brother, Charles Avery, in Newark, N. J, and in the poisoning of her mother-in-law, Mrs. John F. Creigh- ton. Mrs. Creighton was the sixth woman to be electrocuted in Sing Sing since the chair was put into operation in 1891. Embracing the Catholic faith only a few hours before the electrocution, she was visited only by the Catholic chap- lain and her husband, John, with whom she shook hands. She gave him her wedding ring. Appelgate spent his last hours with his 13-year-old daughter, Agnes. Led from his cell just before the execution, the girl sat in an ante room of the warden’s office and munched a box lunch with an aunt and uncle. S bt Roanoke (Continued From First Page.) and the lights were on, but I didn't catch the number.” The buckshot riddied the curtain directly behind Simmons’ head. The pellets went through the glass in the rear curtain. Thirty-two other pellets alashed through the curtain, most of them within a 20-inch eircle. A number of shots entered Sim- mons’ head. Dr. J. E. Darden, acting county coroner. said death was ap- parently instantaneous. The interior of the car was lit- tered with flying bits of glass, but Boone, who came through the hail of bullets unscathed, also escaped in- jury from the glass particles. With Simmons slumped over the wheel, and blood pouring down the side of the car and over the running board, Boone ran to a nearby tele- phone and called the sheriff’s Salem office. City police were notified, and In a short time officers were on the scene. The car came to & halt in front of C. P. Perdue’s home. Perdue and his wife did not hear the shooting—were awakened when they heard officers talking and saw lights flashing near the car. The investigators found holes they - believed to have been caused by a .45- caliber bullet. They searched the high- way and found gun wadding. An autopsy was scheduled for this morning. Meanwhile officers continued an intensive manhunt, with few clues, —_— Mummies Found in U. S. Unexplained headless mummies, dat- Ing back to the ancient “basket maker” pulture, have been found buried in the American Southwest. [eet Ache? Try This New #CREAMED” RUBBING ALCOHOL SPRY soothes tired, aching teet. Can't spill, yet liquefies as you . rub it in. Doesn’t “dry out” the skin. Usealsoforsoremuscles, cuts, bruises. 707, absolute alcohol. Large jar, 29¢—double size, 49¢. AT YOUR RETAILER'S Send 10c for trial jar to Dept. W-19, Spry, Inc., Murdered in death in her hotel room at Ash Slaying (Continued From First Page.) man said he and the stranger ex- changed a few remarks about the scream and that he then stepped back in his room, attaching no par- ticular significance to the incident. Officers believed the girl had left her door open because of the un- seasonably hot weather. Miss Clevenger came here a few days ago with her uncle on a vaca- tion trip. In her room was found a letter to | her parents, Mr. and Mrs, J. F. Cle- | venger of Great Kills, Staten Island, NY D. C. MAN QUESTIONED. | A Washington man’s connection | with the murdered Helen Clevenger | was checked by Metropolitan police today and the results of the investi- gation airmailed to Asheville police. | “I hope we may have uncovered | something that will be of use to Asheville authorities,” Inspector Ber- Jnard Thompson, chief of deectives, remarked to reporters. The man, whose identity was kept secret, was named in the diary in which Miss Clevenger evidently was THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY, JULY 17, 1936. Hotel Room HELEN CLEVENGER, Honor student at New York University, who was found shot to eville, N. C., yesterday, Police sought a man seen dashing from the hotel, supposedly a few minutes after the 19-year-old girl was slain. —Copyright, A. P, Wirephoto. writing at the time her assassin en- tered her room. Asheville police telephoned a re- quest to Thompson to talk with him in the hope he might be able to shed some light on the crime. He was not considered a suspect, however. Detective Sergt. E. L. Baker and | Detective Howard Ogle spent the morning with the diary man and re- ported their findings to Thompson. The girl is a former resident of Wash- ington. Her father, Joseph F. Cleven- ger, was stationed here from 1915 to 1928 as a chemist in the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Agriculture. he CIVIL SERVICE EXAM? We Deliver at McKinley High | Tables* and Typewriters | o 9125 *Regulation, tndividual, new tables, not merely @ place at ¢ bench! United Typewriter Co. Phone NA. 6063 For Reservation 813 14th St. Open UNTIL 10 P.M. THRU JULY 22 Our Room Is the Coolest in the Bu TALKIE DIRECTOR, A. CROSLAND, DIES Auto Victim Made First Fea- ture Dialogue Picture. Was 41. . By tke Ausociated Press. HOLLYWOOD, Calif, July 17— Director Alan Crosland, who taught the screen to talk, is dead. The man who nine years ago paced Al Jolson through the “Jazz Singer,” the first dialogue picture ever made, died last night of injuries received in a motor car accident. The 41-year-old director was criti- cally hurt July 10 when his heavy car struck debris from a street ex- cavation on Sunset boulevard. The machine overturned. Crosland was taken unconscious from the wreck- age. St making a strong fight to- ward recovery, despite concussion and multiple fractures, when pneumonia developed early this week. Ex-Wife and Son Present. As the end came last night Natalie Moorehead, the blond actress who was divorced ‘-om Crosland a year ago, and Alan, jr., his son by his first marriage, gathered in the little hog- pital room. Crosland and the youth had made their home together, although Alan, jr’s mother, Mrs. Juanita Crawford Crosiand, also resides in Hollywood. New York City was Crosland’s birthplace August 10, 1894, and there he tried his hand at the stage and journalism before entering the film industry in 1912. From the dramatic staff of the old New York Globe, Crosland went to the Edison Co. as a publicity director. He soon started directing pictures. During the war he served overseas with the Army photographic service. Made Famous Films. Later he plied his megaphone at| the studios of Selznick, Cosmopolitan, United Artists and Warner Brothers. | Films made by him included “Ene- mies of Women,” “Don Juan,” “Glo- rious Betsy” and “The Beloved Rogue.” Then Warner Brothers experiment- ed with sound. They assigned Cros- spoken lines and a song or two, with | Al Jolson handling the vocal. “The Jazz Singer” was released and the talkie revolution was under way. Crosland was at work on a mystery | film, “The Case of the Caretaker's Cat,” when the crash occurred last week. @ESTABLISHED 1865@ ] | The Golden Rule Is Practised ot Barkers We only sell the kind of | materials which we would buy if we were purchasers instead of sellers; experience _ has taught that the best i | the cheapest in the long run. 'GEO. M. BARKER e COMPANY o LUMBER 7 649-651 N. Y. Ave. NW. 7 and MILLWORK ICARL IS ANONG LANDONSEALLERS Government Spending Be- lieved Topic of Confer- ence at Topeka. BACKGROUND— Controller General McCarl, re~ tiring June 30 upon completion of his 15-year term, demounced the “wasteful expenditures” of _the present administration and was re- ported to have offered his services in the interest of correctives. #y the Assoclated Press. ‘TOPEKA, Kans,, July 17.—Gov. Alf M. Landon assigned himself an early start on a busy day today, beginning by receiving a delegation at 7:30 a.m. and continuing with others well through the heat of the afternoon. The expected visitors included J. R. McCarl, recently retired controller general. First on the Republican presidential nominee’s calling list was a group of Texas rice growers, headed by Capt. A. H. Hoyt of Beaumont, president of the American Rice Growers' Associa- tion, and C. E. Stone of Houston, president of the American Rice Millers’ Association. Term Ended June 30. McCarl, a former secretary to Sen- ator George W. Norris of Nebraska, completed his 15-year term as con- troller general June 30. He was the first appointee to that position, lim- ited to one term. Upon retiring, McCarl criticized Government spending under the New Deal. This was considered a probable topic of his conference with Landon, Buy from an Electrical Dealer WESTINGHOUSE REFRIGERATORS Jeiineping §17 10th St. N.W. NA. g160 land to do a picture that would have | K The Taft is big in size, and it's even bigger in service, in valve and in convenience. Tanry at The Taft! 2000 ROOMS WITH BATH, FROM $2.50 HOTEL ALrrep Lewis, Mgr. who has called for “better housekeep- ing” in Federal Government. Despite & crowded schedule of vis- ttors, Gov. Landon expected to do some more work on the acceptance speech he will deliver from the south steps of the State House next Thursday night. Other guests on his list for today were Wayland Brooks, Republican nominee for Governor of Illinois; George F. Harding, Republican na- tional committeeman from Ilinois, and William M. Chadbourne, New York lawyer, who was an active worker for Mayor F. H. La Guardia. Publisher Sees Close Fight. Eugene Meyer, Washington publish- er and former governor of the Federal Reserve Board, conferred with Landon yesterday and predicted “a very close fight” in the coming election. He de- clined to say whether he would support Landon. “The outlook at present is not for an overwhelming majority for either candidate,” Meyer said. On the way to California, he said he stopped to “pay my respects.” He noted Landon’s record “for making a lot of progress during a campaign” and expressed the opinion the Kansas Governor would conduct “the highest type of campaign.” S5555555>0o555S 5555555555 STRIKE DISORDER BRINGS ARRESTS Police Chief Acts After Picket Line Battle at R. C. A. Plant. B the Associated Press. CAMDEN, N. J., July 17.—Fifteen | persons were arrested early today by | police, who said they were attempting | to remove from the picket lines at| the R. C. A. Manufacturing Co. plant all persons not directly connected with the striking Electrical Workers'! Union or formerly employed at the| plant. | The action was ordered by Arthur | Colsey, chief of police, who said he| was attempting to avert a recurrence | of yesterday's disorders, in which 123 persons were arrested. Chief Colsey termed yesterday's out- break “the most serious disorder of its estimated that a group of 4,000 eme ployes battled with an equal number of pickets and sympathizers over a five-block area. The melee started after quitting time as employes split up after leaving the factory to go home. A dozen fist fights began at once, and re- peated police charges served only to scatter the participants. Two men were treated for injuries at a hospital, and scores of others re« ceived aid at drug stores. Two mount- ed policemen were dragged from their horses, but rescued by comrades on foot. T T T TR A A Wheel Bra Relined GUARANTEED! ! Material and Work, FREE!! -~ Unlimited testing and adjustments. RNIKE nature in the history of the city.” He 903 N St M. W, _——— = P— THERE'S A DIFFERENCE ire Sty le THERE'S A DIFFERENCE No matter whet price you pay for @ Diamond it is an inv on and thought. 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